Scripture Introduction
Read the Shorter Catechism question and ask the congregation to answer: “How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?”
Congregational Response: “That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must apply ourselves to it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love; lay it up in our hearts; and practice it in our lives.”
[Read Matthew 13.10-17. Pray.]
Introduction
Kingdoms advance by force.
Consider the recent change in power in Egypt and the current conflict in Libya. Old regimes controlled with power, and new leaders wield their authority in the same way. Muammar Gaddafi began his rule by a coup d’état; and now a new generation threatens to overthrow him.
But Jesus’ rule is different: “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus said. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting…. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18.36).
Now certainly the Bible calls Jesus a King. At his birth, the Magi recognized the signs, traveled to Jerusalem, and asked: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2.2). And at his death, the inscription over him read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19.19).
In our text today, Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven, his kingdom, about which he alone reveals the secrets, a kingdom best described with parables. Jesus’ reign and rule advances, not by force, but by seeing and hearing. Other kingdoms do not advance in this way.
We easily see the contrast when we compare Jesus to Muammar Gaddafi or Hosni Mubarak. But what about the kind of kingdoms that we have in the States? We might suppose those advance by hearing; our elected leaders certainly talk a lot. But consider, for example, President Obama’s healthcare program. He speaks eloquently to persuade us to support his ideas; but ultimately, his agenda advances by coercion – health insurance and healthcare will change and you cannot prevent it. Whether you hear or not, or whether you see the benefits or not, it advances with the power of the presidency and the force of the law. The Tea Party folks use the same methods. They demonstrate, and give speeches, and seek to persuade – in order get more than 50% of the votes and force their kingdom on the rest of the country. If they do not have the power of the majority, their rule will not advance.
I’m not saying that is wrong, or that we could or should operate a different way. I am saying that is the way with all kingdoms that arise from this world and its systems.
But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world; his advances by seeing and hearing. “Take care then how you hear” (Luke 8.18), Jesus taught at another time. Take care how you hear because heaven’s rule advances by hearing. Now to be sure, some hear, but do not hear; just as some see, but do not see. This should not surprise us, for Isaiah prophesied this very thing. A dullness of heart, a lack of faith, an unwillingness to be convicted and changed, these mean that even what is heard is not heard, and what is seen is not seen.
Up to this point, I feel like I am pretty much tracking with Jesus. This makes sense to me. Some hear, yet are unwilling to listen, so though they hear (in a sense), they do not HEAR. Some people saw in Jesus a poor Jewish man, possibly deranged, certainly despised and afflicted. The glory of God, veiled behind the mask of humanity, was not seen by all who saw. Even today, some people hear Jesus speak through the Bible and attribute the words to a prophet, or a visionary, or a charismatic leader, or a fool – a variety of possibilities exist for hearing Jesus and yet not hearing God speak directly to your soul. I feel like I understand so far.
But then what seems strange (and if I am reading this correctly, it confused the disciples too): “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13.10). “If they see, but do not see, and hear, but do not hear, should you not seek to communicate with utmost clarity? Instead of figures of speech, speak plainly, Jesus! Why do you speak to them in parables?”
We begin, today, a series in the parables of Jesus, often his preferred teaching method. You may have heard that a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” That simple and easily remembered definition is a good start at understanding this word which occurs 45 times in the New Testament. The word itself is a compound of two Greek words, para [para] the preposition which means, “beside” or “alongside of,” and the verb ba,llw [ballo], to cast or throw. A parable, then, has the idea of a story thrown beside a real life situation in which there are parallels. So, when we hear Jesus speak in parables, if we think, “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning,” you will be headed in the right direction.
But you will want to add to your understanding. A pastor’s sermon illustration or an Aesop’s fable may also give heavenly meaning by way of an earthly story yet not rise to the level of parable. Jesus’ parables do more than illustrate; they describe his kingdom in a way that also that also advances it. Parables not only have a heavenly meaning, they bring in the kingdom of heaven.
With that hint at an answer, let’s begin this series by hearing Jesus’ answer to the question of his disciples: “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
1. We Learn Obedience from Jesus’ Use of Parables
My first answer may seem relatively unimportant, but I think it is significant: Jesus spoke in parables because such was prophesied.
Matthew 13.34-35: All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
I think we sometimes forget that Jesus was a true human. We may imagine that he innately knew what to do in all situations and circumstances. But the Bible says that Jesus “learned obedience” and that he “increased in wisdom and in favor with God and man.” The implication seems to be that Jesus read the Bible and did what it says.
I think there is a great lesson for us in Jesus’ simple faith in the Scriptures. Trust in God produces obedience to his word. This is why we read from James 1 in worship today:
James 1.22-25: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
I think Jesus did precisely that. He heard and did, and was blessed in his doing. There is a lesson for all who claim Jesus as their savior.
2. We Submit to God’s Sovereignty from Jesus’ Use of Parables (Matthew 13.11)
The Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world; it operates on another level entirely. As a result, we cannot discover its nature or grasp its reality by earthly means. Someone must reveal to us its nature.
That is what the word, “secrets” or “mysteries” means. A secret (in this context) is something hidden from our sight that can only be understood now by description. The secrets of the kingdom of heaven are things unique to Jesus’ kingdom that must be revealed in order to be known.
You cannot find the truth about his kingdom by reading the paper or looking through a telescope or studying physics. All of those are important for living in this world. But his kingdom is not from the world. The kingdom of heaven exists in another place, in a different dimension if you prefer – one you cannot comprehend apart from the word of the one who came from heaven to earth.
And Jesus chose some to give the secrets to. It is God’s prerogative to choose some to hear and see, while passing over others. Jesus does explain how he chose these few to give insight and knowledge; just that he does, and we have learned to submit to that teaching from his example.
3. We Are Divided by Jesus’ Use of Parables
The same sun which melts wax also hardens clay. The same light which shows and directs the way of some also dazzles the eyes of others. The same words which open the door of heaven to certain people close it to others. The parables comfort some and confound others; they divide.
Note how chapter 13 begins: “That same day….” What “same day”? The same day that he was accused of demon-possessed.
The religious leaders stepped up their criticism that morning. No longer would they allow Jesus to teach unopposed. They threw down the gauntlet; they declared their position. They said to the crowd: “We stand here; Jesus stands there; chose whose side you will join. We have all the power to make your life miserable. We can take your money and destroy your life. We can throw you in jail and kill you. He can do nothing because he is of the Devil.”
That same day Jesus told them many things in parables. By explaining the kingdom of heaven with these stories, the parables divide us.
Some are hard to the things of God, and from them parables hide truth.
Matthew 13.13: This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Jesus uses parables for exactly the reason he described earlier: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matthew 7.6).
Some people do not want to know the truth. The film, The Matrix, powerfully illustrated this. Morpheus describes the Matrix as, “the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind…. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”
The authors of that film got their idea from Jesus. The crowds were so inured, so familiar with the unpleasant experience of life in a fallen world, that they did not want to hear the truth. For the hard of heart, the parables hide truth that they do not want to hear.
Some are lazy to the things of God, and from them parables goad us to discovery.
Matthew Henry: “A parable is a shell that keeps good fruit for the diligent, but keeps it from the slothful.”
Because we have a sin nature, we tend to devalue those things which come too easily. By hiding kingdom truth in parable shells, God provokes us to labor to get at the reward.
Some are seeking the things of God, and from them parables demand transformation.
Jesus’ parables always say more than at first appears; they often say the opposite of what first appears. A serious devotion to these words will never leave you unchanged. Jesus always speaks for change, and the parables will either bring you closer to God or drive you away.
You will know where you stand in your walk with God by how you respond. Will these intriguing riddles goad you deeper and higher, or turn you away with their enigmas and mysteries?
I think the hardest part of Jesus’ parables is that the first and seemingly obvious meaning satisfies the flesh. As such, people are happy to hear them – they tell us what we want to hear. But if we look more carefully, like the picture of old woman that may be a young woman if you look at it differently, the parable begins to say the opposite of what we expected. We are forced to dig further, to answer hard questions, to refuse to be satisfied with simplistic answers. Eventually, we find that we must change.
The parables are unique; they work their way into the soul, a seed growing to produce a harvest of fruit.
4. Conclusion
A few weeks ago the computer Watson was in the news for beating humans in the game show Jeopardy. For all the excitement, however, Watson only responded as programmed. Networking hundreds of computers to harness the computational power of the many is certainly a nifty feat. But the machine only did what its human masters demanded.
I have a computer in my office with a less powerful but fully functional set of silicon chips. With the Bible program I bought, my computer knows every verse of the Bible. Just this morning, for today’s sermon, I asked it to look up every occurrence of the word, “parable.” The status bar at the bottom of the program window tells me that it found the 50 uses in 0.03 seconds. Faster than I could find them, with a concordance, by a several seconds, no doubt.
But though my program knows every parable, it misses the main point – the parables bring us to Jesus. The disciples remain blind to the light until Jesus explains. The crowds hear, but do not hear, unless they turn to Jesus. The heart remains hard unless it is brought to Christ for renewal.
Here is the main reason for this form of teaching. These riddles can only be understood in the context of Jesus’ ministry. They defy understanding without the referent of Jesus.
The parables are the perfect form of teaching because we only see their truth when we come to Jesus.
Jesus condemned the study of truth without submission to him who is truth when he said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
May Christ’s parables drive us him for life.
